Daniel felt like he was waking from a very long dream. His head felt like someone had hit it with a hammer. He yawned loudly, but it came out as some kind of ghastly groan. It was not a pleasant sound. A quick look around turned out to be a waste of time, his vision was blurry. Turning his head led to the unfortunate discovery that his neck was stiff and sore. He couldn't remember drinking anything the night before. It was hard to understand why he suddenly had the mother of all hangovers.
"Looks like sleeping beauty is finally awake..."
Daniel recognized that sardonic tone. Even though he was still groggy, he knew it was Alexa. He raised his head to look in front of him, fighting the aching pains in his neck, but didn't see anyone there.
"Up here, champ."
Daniel looked up, and up, until he saw her blurry face. It was the biggest face he'd ever seen. "W-Where am I? How are you here?"
"You're in a hospital, in Vegas. Don't try to move around too much. They have you hooked up to all these tubes and wires. They told me all the stuff they're pumping into you, but I forgot most of it."
"Wait, I'm not in Small Town? This is-is a normal hospital?" Daniel's eyes were starting to adjust to his surroundings, but his vision was still a bit blurry. Rubbing them seemed to help a little.
"Turns out I'm your emergency contact. I guess you changed it from Stephanie to me. That was definitely a good call. Anyway, they contacted me and told me you were in the hospital, so I cut my business trip short to fly out here."
"You shouldn't have done that! I just have a bit of a cold or something. It's no big deal."
Alexandria waited for him to finish a raspy cough. "You have the flu, Dan. I'd been texting you for a couple of days, but you never replied. When the hospital called, I nearly had a heart attack. They said you collapsed in the grocery store? The hospital in Small Town wasn't equipped for serious cases or something like that. You've been here ever since."
"I don't remember any of that. Wait. What day is it?"
"It's Friday. I got here yesterday. I actually spent the night in that chair right there. It wasn't very comfortable. A nurse tried to tell me I had to leave. I didn't say what I felt like saying, but I think the look I gave her made my feelings pretty clear. Scared little thing scurried off somewhere far away from me."
Daniel was pretty sure he knew where the conversation was inevitably headed. He'd been chewed out by Alexa before, but not by the new larger than life Alexa.
Alexandria leaned over the hospital bed's railing, lowering herself closer to Daniel. "When we spoke on Monday, I think you forgot to mention something important. If you had said something, I think I would have remembered. I would recall you telling me that you're four fucking inches tall now!"
"I tried to tell you, but you hung up too fast!"
"I told you not to do anything stupid! I know I told you that. I even wrote it down! I put it in that letter I sent you. I wrote, 'Don't do anything stupid, Dan.'"
"I know Alexa, but I didn't get the letter until after I moved. It was already too late!"
"I'm so mad right now! You don't even know how pissed I am." Alexandria raised the back of her hand over Daniel menacingly. "I just want to smack the shit out of you for being so stupid! If you weren't so sick, I'd make you feel how angry I am right now. You're lucky that you're already in the hospital." She pulled her hand away from him, gripping the railing of the bed with both hands. There was an audible squeaking as she tightened her grip on the metal rail.
"I'm sorry! I know that I'm stupid. I never wanted this. This is why I moved away, so that no one would have to put up with me any more. Go on and hit me like she did. Tell me I'm a freak and leave me here. I deserve to be alone. I just keep hurting the people I love."
"Stop it, Dan. Don't do that. Stop crying." Alexandria gently lowered her index finger to his chest, tenderly moving the tip of her finger in small circles. "Please Dan, I promise I'll stop giving you shit. You have to stop that or I'll... I'm barely holding it together here!" The sight of his tears stirred something deep inside her.
Daniel felt drops of rain splashing on his legs and chest. How was it raining indoors? An upward glance revealed the source, tears were rolling down Alexandria's pale cheeks. Her dark brown hair looked a bit disheveled, probably from a poor night's rest.
"Jesus, Dan, look what that evil bitch did to you. Why didn't you call me? I would've dropped everything! You didn't have to go through all that shit alone. You're SO stupid!"
Her quiet sobs hurt him more than any flu bug ever could have. Alexa was a strong woman. He'd never seen her cry before, not once in four years. It was like a dam burst behind her brown eyes. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and console her, but that was something he'd never be able to do again. Instead, he grabbed her finger with both hands. It was the only thing he could do.
"Please don't cry Alexa."
"This is so frustrating! All I want to do right now is pick you up and hold you, but I can't because of all these stupid tubes and wires sticking out of you. I wanted to lay in the bed with you last night, but they said I couldn't. There's plenty of room, but they said I might roll over in my sleep. I just want you to get better so we can go home."
He grabbed her finger tighter, as tightly as he could. "I feel better already. I can't believe you came. I thought I'd never see you again."
"Of course you thought that," she sniffled, "because you're stupid. Why are you all wet?" She raised her free hand to her cheek. It felt slick. "Oh geez, look what I did now. I made a mess. I got you all wet." She wiped at her damp cheeks with the back of her free hand. Then she plucked a tissue from the box on the table beside the hospital bed. Wiping the sheets covering Daniel with the tissue only seemed to spread the moisture even more. "I can't do anything right." She quickly abandoned her futile attempts to dry him off, in favor of dabbing at his glistening cheeks with the tip of the tissue.
"I'm sure I'll be better in a couple of days. Then I can go home, and get back to work. And then you won't have to worry any more."
"You're not going back there. You're not going back to Smallville."
"It's Small Town. That's where I belong now."
Alexandria pressed her finger into his chest, making him squirm uncomfortably. "You know what I meant. You're not going back there." She pressed down on his chest once more before letting up. "You're going home with me. I'm not about to let you live all by yourself in isolation like some hermit. That's not happening."
"B-But you're big, and I'm small."
"Maybe you should have thought of that before you pulled this little stunt. You thought you could get rid of me that easily?"
"But I can't! I can't live in your world."
"Dan, you're wasting your breath. I don't care what you say. My mind is made up. Now close your eyes."
"Do what? Why?"
"I brought you something special from New York. But I want it to be a surprise, so close your eyes." She waited until his eyes were shut, before leaning in closer. "I've been waiting four years to give this to you. Can you guess what it is?"
He could feel her warm breath on his face. Defiantly, he opened his eyes to peek. Her massive lips hovered over him blocking out everything else. He watched her pink lips move as she whispered to him.
"It's me."
His face melted into her warm, puckered lips. Her kiss smothered him in heavenly softness. Her plush lips squeezed his face, threatening to consume him. It was over in an instant, a mere flash of ecstasy. Her lips pulled away, leaving him wanting more. They hovered less than an inch from his face, but just out of reach. He could still feel her warm breath.
"You shouldn't do that. You might get sick too."
"Your tiny germs can't hurt me, but if you do somehow get me sick, I'll step on you."
"Sure you would..."
"Now get some rest. The doctor said you could check out of the hospital the day after you woke up. We're flying back to New York tomorrow."